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Thursday, December 21, 2006
all green and fickle all over...questions 4 and 5
I've combined the next two questions, because they're quick to answer. I'll answer the first one, from new commenter on this blog, "fickleasever," who asks:
What was the first music you remember hearing?
That's easy, I think. I actually DON'T remember what the actual song was, but I can be 99.99% sure it was a hymn of some sort. It was probably something written by Ira Stanphil, who was also the pastor of the Church I grew up in at the time of my birth.
The second question, question 5, comes from long time commenter and one of the few bloggers in Spokane that I've actually met, GreenLibertarian. Green asks:
Why are you called toadman?
Simple. Reference the credits on this poor quality film I made in the spring of 1993 while in Film School at the University of North Texas. The moniker "toadman" kinda stuck after that, for some reason. Not sure why.
Question four in this series comes from North Idaho Daddy blogger, Family Phil (A Family Runs Through It). Great blog, great commenter, homeschooling stay at home dad...the works. How he finds time to even have a life is beyond me. Anyway, on with Phil's Question:
Who's your favorite Daddy Blogger? But seriously... What's your favorite family thing to do in Spokane?
My favorite Daddy Blogger? Well, you, of course. But there are others. One other daddy blogger that comes to mind is Peefer (Peefer's Home). He writes about his kids often (which I suppose is the hallmark of a "daddy blogger"), and he writes very well. I like peefer and his writing a lot, you should all check him out. Just don't shoot peefer in an alley, you might get arrested.
As to your second question Phil, I'd have to say that one of our favorite things to do so far in and around the Spokane area (I'll have to expand it to North Idaho as well) is to visit Walter's Fruit Ranch in Green Bluff (all times of the year), and also visit Sandpoint in the summer. We love to do both, and our kids always look forward to these outings.
We also love to go downtown to, what the kids like to call, "the wagon park." We enjoy hanging around there, riding the Looff Carousel, and talking to the vagrants. It's lots of fun. Personally, I love getting lost in Aunties Book Store, and could do that for hours, if given the chance.
Other things we did around the Inland Northwest this past year was go to the lake with Bobness, and also Huckleberry picking with Bobness. Those two things were some of our top favorites this year, which we hope we'll get to repeat next year. We also went to the top of Mt. Spokane a couple of times, and Steptoe Butte once.
Every year it's different. We like lots of things, and we do lots of things. I'm sure it's the same with you. We've only lived here three years, and we haven't even begun to explore what all there is to do around here.
So, well, there you have it. I didn't really mean for this to become a round up of last years outings and events, but it just sort of turned out that way.
What do you all like to do around your neck of the woods?
A new commenter here at [synaptic disunion], using the moniker sumangali tania pink asked me the following questions:
1. favorite comedian and why 2. favorite cleaning produce and why 3. worst city ever visited and why 4. most boring question ever asked
I was once chastised for saying "you know, I really never listen to stand-up comedian's. I just don't like canned humor much." Which is, admittedly, a weird thing to say, since there are funny movies, that are indeed, billed as "funny." I suppose what the problem really is, is that I sometimes don't like being told "hey, this is funny." I suppose I'd rather just find out on my own.
Having mentioned that caveat, I still must answer question 1 I suppose. I like a few comedians, actually, but not completely. I liked Steven Wright, back in the day when he was popular. I liked Gary Larson (not really a comedian, I know, but I like is humor). I enjoy Jack Black's musical humor, and I liked David Cross on Mr. Show. Why? I don't know. I just like those guys. It's hard to really say why without coming across as opinionated, and sometimes shallow.
Now, on to question 2. Cleaning products. I like the cleaning product Simple Green, because it sounds like it's made of people. Heh...
Question 3. Worst city every visited? Well, I've been to a few, and I think I'd have to say that Miami is a place that I could do without seeing again. Why? Again, not sure why. Too fake maybe? I dunno. There might be a place in the future that I visit that might be worse. We'll just have to wait and see.
Most boring question every asked? Wow...probably the question I get asked the most often when I meet new people, which is "why don't you go by your first name." Still, it is an ice breaker.
My old friend A. Scott White (CaveatEmptor), who I've known since childhood (maybe even earlier) asks the following:
A two-part question:
1) Name one thing you liked about Texas (in general) that you miss now that you're up in Washington.
2) Try to name the main thing you like better about Washington than Texas.
Hello, Toadman.
What do I miss about Texas? Just one thing? I suppose if the "one thing" wasn't my extended family, I'd be chastised. However, it should go without saying that I miss my family. You see, all my siblings, my parents, my nieces, nephews, and most of my cousins, live in Texas.
I suspect, however, that Scott knows that I miss them, I suspect that he's asking about something else. So, I'll give him something else that I miss about Texas.
Thunderstorms. I miss the massively giant thunderstorms. I miss the way the ground shakes when the thunder rolls, I miss the hours of brooding oppression while watching the Rhode Island sized storm clouds move in over the vast prairie. This just doesn't happen up here. There are thunderstorms, to be sure, but the Thunder is weak, tinny, and doesn't rumble in your gut and rattle the windows like it does down there. The thunder here doesn't make you feel a small.
The second question is pretty easy. I DON'T miss the sprawl. Or rather, I like that there isn't as much urban sprawl here. I like that I can drive for less than ten minutes and be in a pine wood forest, or wheat covered farm land. Or, I can drive just a little longer, and be on top of Mnt. Spokane. I like that.
It was almost shocking when we returned to Texas recently, for Thanksgiving, to be driving from my parents home in Boyd, toward the thriving metropolis of Fort Worth, and notice that many of the open prairies were now covered with tract homes as far as I could see. It was disorienting to see the tops of houses on the horizon, instead of the soft roll of the north Texas grasslands. It was a travesty, and a surprise, to see deer at my parents place one night. Deer that have been displaced by the growing city, and have been pushed out of their supporting prairie . I don't miss the massive crush of humanity. Not at all. I like small, quaint, open. That's the main thing I like about Spokane, and the inland northwest, in fact, and I'll fight to keep it this way.
I've decided to break up these answers into individual posts, so I can take more time to answer them. Our first question comes from Scott aka SRH (Under Construction). Scott asks:
What is the absolute worst meal you have ever had to eat? One where you were expecting better, not some soggy trail mix in the rainy Pac NW story either. Who prepared said meal, and what was the unfortunate occasion?
Well Scott, that might be hard for me to answer, since I am probably the most non-complaintive person with regards to food that most people have ever met. I never turn down a meal, especially free meals. This is, to be sure, one of my downfalls, and one of the reasons I'm in the shape I am today (pear shaped, that is). I am being completely honest when I tell you that I'll try anything. I've had squid, alligator, gnu, seaweed, zebra, snake, and I even had squirrel and dumplings once. Don't dare me to eat something, you'll lose.
I do, however, have comments to make about food. I am not simply a caloric compactor, I do discern taste, smell, texture, and a wide array of flavors. Ah..flavor. That's the point of food, is it not? Flavor says it all. Flavor gives you the 'message' of the item in question. Flavor tells the 'story' of the food. Indian food is spicy, and speaks to the herbs and spices available in India. It's the same with Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, or even Mexican food. Therefore, when I encounter food that has very little discernible flavor, I can honestly say that it is less than adequate. For, if there is no flavor, I may as well be eating a calorie cube.
I recently attended a holiday party where there was a marked lack of flavor to many of the dishes. I've noticed, since moving here to the Inland Pacific Northwest (Spokane, to be exact), that it seems to me that Inland Northwesterners are literally 'afraid' of flavor. "Not too much pepper please, it's too spicy." Huh? Black pepper too spicy? Oh, then I'll just throw the Cayenne out the window, shall I? Yes, I think I shall.
But still, flavor isn't all about spice, is it? No. It's about...well, flavor. I noticed several dishes that seemed like they didn't even have salt added. Salt dehydrates food slightly, and draws out the moistures from within that hold in the true flavor of the food. Too much salt, and you've ruined the dish, not enough, and it's still bad. A good dish shouldn't need any salt, but should be spiced just right.
Let me be perfectly clear that there were some dishes with plenty of flavor at this party. It just seemed that an inordinate amount of dishes were, well, bland. Tasteless, and indeed, unfortunate. Perhaps those who made the dishes, the attendees of the party (it was a pot luck), were just poor cooks. But I'm just not sure. It seems that many of the potlucks I've attended here in the Inland Northwest have had several dishes of the bland and tasteless variety. It's more than coincidence, I fear.
So...there you have it. Question number one has been well and truly answered, I think.
